We compared methane oxidation activity in laboratory incubations of samples from a podzolic soil profile to the microbial community structure of the soil, determined as the content and composition of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs). The abundances of two fatty acids considered unique for methanotrophs (and the abundances of all other quantified PLFAs) were very weakly related to methane oxidation

Recent and ancient carbonate platforms are major marine ecosystems, built by various carbonate-secreting organisms with different sensitivity for environmental change. For this reason, carbonate platforms are excellent sensors for changes in contemporaneous marine environments. A variety of ecosystem changes in carbonate platforms have previously been recognised in the aftermath of mass extinction

Background: The purpose is to evaluate the accuracy of computed tomography (CT) in the pulmonary staging of osteosarcoma. Patients and methods: Fifty-one patients presenting with osteosarcoma and at initial CT considered metastatic to the chest had lung surgery. Two teams of two senior radiologists independently reviewed all CT examinations. Their results were compared to the histological studies.

Recent developments of the small x CCFM evolution are described, including improvements of the splitting function. The resulting unintegrated gluon densities are used for predictions of hadronic final state measurements like jet production at HERA and heavy quark production at the Tevatron.

Pictures are typically better remembered than words, but explanations for this fact diverge. Some attribute picture superiority to more distinctive perceptual qualities, others to more efficient conceptual processing. In an effort to separate perceptual and conceptual factors, two groups were presented with mixed lists of pictures and words and were subsequently tested for recognition in either th

A new coated time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probe design is described and evaluated. In contrast to previous coated TDR probes, our probe may be used to measure both the dielectric constant (K-a) and bulk electrical conductivity (sigma(a)) in saline porous media. This was made possible by attaching two coaxial cables to a 0.27-m three-rod with a coated central rod. The shield of the first cable w

Type 1 diabetes is a common, multifactorial disease with strong familial clustering (genetic risk ratio [{lambda}S] ~ 15). Approximately 40% of the familial aggregation of type 1 diabetes can be attributed to allelic variation of HLA loci in the major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6p21 (locus-specific {lambda}S ~ 3). Three other disease susceptibility loci have been clearly demonstrated

In order to clarify further the nature of the long-term influence on the cerebral vasculature by the sympathetic nerves, a bilateral cervical pre-ganglionic denervation was performed in 1-week-old rats. Four weeks later, morphometric determinations of the vascular dimensions revealed diminished media cross-sectional areas and luminal radii in the middle cerebral and posterior cerebral arteries, wh

Retinal degenerations such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or glaucoma are a major cause of blindness in humans. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the various types of retinal degeneration is a pre-requisite for the development of rational therapies for these diseases. Activation of the calcium dependent protease, calpain, has been suggested to play an important role in cell death in various ne

Abstract is not available

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the N, P and K status on frost sensitivity of Norway spruce needles in a fertilization experiment situated in a nutrient poor 29-year-old Picea abies stand in western Denmark. The relative difference in frost sensitivity among trees was assessed by an index of injury, based on conductivity measurements of ion leakage from needles. Despite fertiliza

Social insects such as termites live in colonies in which cooperation is assumed by all individuals developing into castes to which specific tasks are allocated. Little has been reported about molecular aspects underlying termite caste-specific gene expression. Genetic regulation has recently been hypothesized to govern caste-specific traits and physiology in social insects. Cytochrome c oxidase (

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Whether an association exists between cystopathy and progression of diabetic nephropathy has never been clarified. The aim of the present study was to measure the degree of cystopathy in relation to the rate of progression of diabetic nephropathy. To that end, 17 insulin-dependent diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy but without voiding symptoms were investigated urodynamically. The median

We have used local vibrational mode (LVM) spectroscopy to monitor the formation of oxygen-related thermal double donors (TDDs) at 45 0 degrees C and their annihilation at 650 degrees C in carbon-lean Czochralski-grown (Cz-) Si crystals. A few samples were treated at 650 degrees C under high hydrostatic pressure. It is found that the annihilation of TDDs at 650 degrees C results not only in a parti